Departmental Publications, Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation

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Newsletters, annual reports, and other departmental publications

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FREC 2021 Annual Report
(Virginia Tech, 2021)
This is the 2021 annual report for the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation.
Forestry, Spring 2021
(Virginia Tech, 2021)
The spring 2021 issue of issue of Forestry, the newsletter for the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech.
Forestry Spring, Summer, Fall 2020
(Virginia Tech, 2020)
The combined spring/summer/fall 2020 issue of Forestry, the newsletter for the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech.
2019 FREC Annual Report
(Virginia Tech, 2019)
This is the 2019 annual report for the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation.
Virginia Tech’s RootReport 2020
Kruger, Steve D.; Munsell, John F. (Virginia Tech. Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, 2020)
RootReport is a project of the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech. We study the medicinal plant trade as part of our mission to provide research and extension services for non-timber forest products. From 2013-2016 we sent out a confidential, voluntary questionnaire to ginseng dealers about the other products they may have purchased. Our goal was to be able to estimate the annual output of some of the more commonly traded medicinal forest products and better understand their value and where they come from. As we prepare for our next survey to begin in this summer, we wanted to thank the buyers who participated, and share our results from the previous round.
RootReport: Spotlight on Ginseng
Kruger, Steve D.; Munsell, John F. (Virginia Tech. Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, 2020)
This report provides a breakdown of data on annual ginseng harvests in the US.
Forestry, Fall/Winter 2019-2020
(Virginia Tech. Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, 2020)
The combined Fall/Winter 2019-2020 issue of Forestry, the newsletter for the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech.
RootReport Preliminary Results for 2015
(Virginia Tech. Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, 2015)
We here at Virginia Tech’s RootReport are excited to release data on the 2015 native medicinal plant harvest, and would like to thank everyone who participated in our study. We are preparing to publish these results and a summary of our 3 years of data collection in greater detail, but thought it would be useful to make preliminary figures available for the many people who work with non-timber forest products. Our numbers for 14 of the more commonly traded native forest medicinal species were collected through a survey of 131 registered ginseng buyers in 15 states. Wild-harvested material accounts for the vast majority of current output for the products we surveyed. The one exception is goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis). A survey by the American Herbal Products Association of its members found that 24 percent of goldenseal purchased from 2005-2010 was cultivated (AHPA 2012). By comparison, the next most commonly cultivated of our surveyed products in the same period was false unicorn (Chamaelirium lutem) (4%) and black cohosh (Actaea racemosa) (2%).
RootReport: Preliminary Results for 2014
Kruger, Steve D.; Munsell, John F. (Virginia Tech. Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, 2015)
RootReport is an ongoing project of the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech. We do market assessment and create extension resources for nontimber forest products. For the last three years we have sent questionnaires to medicinal plant buyers about what products they purchase, how much is being produced and how harvests are distributed around the region. At this stage, we are focusing on medicinal plants in eastern deciduous forests. The data presented here were collected in 2015 and represent products purchased in 2014.
Preliminary Results of the 2013 Virginia Tech Root Report
Kruger, Steve D.; Munsell, John F. (Virginia Tech. Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, 2014)
The Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech is working on a study of the medicinal plant trade as part of a larger effort to provide research and extension services for non-timber forest products. In 2014 we sent out a confidential, voluntary questionnaire to ginseng dealers on the other products they may have purchased in 2013. Our goal is to be able to estimate the annual output of some of the more commonly traded medicinal forest products and be able to see how production is distributed throughout the region.
Forestry, Summer 2019
(Virginia Tech. Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, 2019)
The Summer 2019 issue of Forestry, the newsletter for the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech.
Computer-Implemented Simulation as a Planning Aid for State Fisheries Management Agencies
Clark, Richard D., Jr.; Lackey, Robert T. (Virginia Tech. Division of Forestry and Wildlife Resources, 1975)
A basic job of fisheries management agencies is to forecast the demand and produce the necessary supply of fishing opportunities. Present day angling consumption rates often exceed managers' ability to supply fishing opportunities of the desired quality. Therefore, a primary means for improving fisheries management may be to regulate angling consumption. Operations research techniques are well suited for handling the complexities involved with planning multiple action policies for regulating angler consumption. PISCES is a computer-implemented simulator of the inland fisheries management system of Tennessee, but is adaptable for use in any state. The purpose of PISCES is to aid in planning fisheries management decision policies at the macro-level. PISCES generates predictions of how fisheries management agency activities will affect angler use for a fiscal year. Subjective probability distributions for random variables and Monte Carlo simulation techniques are employed to produce an expected value and standard deviation for each prediction. Test runs under realistic hypothetical situations and discussions with personnel of Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency suggest that PISCES may help fisheries management agencies to improve budget allocation decisions, to formulate multiple action policies for regulating angler use, and to enhance fisheries development. A hypothetical application of PISCES in Tennessee is given.
Site and Yield Information Applicable to Virginia’s Hardwoods: A Review
Evans, Thomas F.; Burkhart, Harold E.; Parker, Robert C. (Virginia Tech. Division of Forestry and Wildlife Resources, 1975)
In 1966 Virginia had a hardwood growing stock volume of 10.5 billion cubic feet and a hardwood sawtimber volume of almost 26. 3 billion board feet. Hardwood timber was distributed over more than 12.8 million acres of commercial forest land in the state (Knight and McClure, 1967). This hardwood timber is converted into a multitude of finished products. Hardwoods comprise well over one-half of the total volume in Virginia's multi-million dollar forest products industry each year. Thus the hardwood resource is very important to the welfare of the citizens of the Old Dominion. Despite the importance of hardwoods in Virginia's timber industry, most hardwood stands have not been placed under intensive forest management. An essential ingredient of a forest management program is information on the yields of timber products which can be achieved by the various tree species on different sites. Yield and site data which can be applied to Virginia's hardwoods are still relatively scarce. The purpose of this paper is to survey the primary works on the yields of hardwood species found in Virginia and to present results from studies on the relations of hardwood growth to various site conditions.
The 1972 Virginia Outdoor Recreation Inventory
Leuschner, William A.; Groves, David L.; Bolger, William T.; Stokes, Gerald L. (Virginia Tech. Division of Forestry and Wildlife Resources, 1974)
The Virginia Commission of Outdoor Recreation coordinated the inventorying of outdoor recreation facilities in the state between June and December, 1972. The inventory is an integral part of the Virginia Outdoors Plan Information System. Its primary purpose was to provide data for the Commission to formulate and write the statewide comprehensive outdoor recreation plan. However, the intended use of these data was much broader. It was envisaged that they would be useful for other planning activities, such as those conducted by federal and state agencies or the 22 Planning District Commissions in Virginia, as well as for various research activities, special studies, and teaching. The purpose of this publication is threefold. The first is to encourage further use of the data by informing the public of its existence and the specific variables contained therein. The second is to present a limited but comprehensive set of data which can be used to answer general inquiries and which will save interested parties the trouble of writing to obtain it. Finally, we wish to inform the public of the availability of the data in other forms which may better suit individual needs but which would be too numerous to publish in this bulletin.
The Economics of Producing and Marketing Christmas Trees on Small Plantations in Virginia
Leuschner, William A.; Sellers, William A. (Virginia Tech. Division of Forestry and Wildlife Resources, 1975)
The purpose of this report is to assist potential and existing Christmas tree growers in making better informed decisions on investments in small Christmas tree plantations, We seek to accomplish this by presenting cost and revenue data and an analysis system to assess probable financial returns. Potential growers should find the entire report of interest although existing growers may want to concentrate their attention on the sections containing cost and revenue data and the discussion of financial analyses.
The Wildlife Management Planning Game: Administrative Manual
Sullivan, Alfred D.; Guynn, David C. (Virginia Tech. Division of Forestry and Wildlife Resources, 1973-09)
This manual has a twofold purpose: (1) to provide operating information for the game administrator, and (2) to provide documentation of the FORTRAN IV program which is the basis of the Wildlife Management Planning Game. It is assumed that the reader is already familiar with the manual entitled 11 Instructions to Participants." It provides the player with an introduction to computer simulation and describes the game itself. The Wildlife Management Planning Game provides the participant with an opportunity to make decisions in an environment of complex relationships and uncertainties. Enthusiasm and motivation in the learning experience are enhanced when the player can view the future outcome of his policy decisions and revise them with the aid of his increased "experience." Players should be allowed opportunities for policy revision and reruns during the gaming session. This allows the player to fully interpret results and formulate policy variations in an effort to improve his plan. After each play of the game, group discussions should be encouraged so that the player can benefit from the experiences of fellow students.
Economic Guidelines for Loblolly Pine Management in Virginia
Thompson, Emmett F.; Mantie, Robert C.; Sullivan, Alfred D.; Burkhart, Harold E. (Virginia Tech. Division of Forestry and Wildlife Resources, 1973-12)
Recent studies (e.g. Southern Forest Resource Analysis Committee, 1969; U. S. Forest Service, 1972) indicate that wood requirements may exceed available supplies by the end of this century. The latest forest survey of Virginia (Knight and McClure, 1967) indicated a 15 percent excess of pine cut over pine growth As a result of this latter finding, Virginia's General Assembly passed a 1970 Reforestation of Timberlands Act. This Act provides financial assistance to private landowners to restore former pine growing lands to pine production. Virginia has clearly established a state policy of encouraging investment in forest production. However, individual landowners may have alternative uses for their land and/or capital, or they may not be fully aware of their land's potential for timber. The specific objective of this study was to develop a means for making economic data on using their land for loblolly pine production available to Virginia's individual forest landowners. The study was limited to loblolly pine for several reasons. Loblolly pine is perhaps the most important of the. timber species currently grown in Virginia, and it is expected to increase in importance.Of the 67.5 million tree seedlings planted in Virginia in 1972, 62.0 million were loblolly pine and 36.5 million of these were planted by farmers and other individuals (Virginia Forests, 1972). Loblolly pine accounts for over 90 per cent of the approximately 85 thousand acres artificially regenerated in Virginia each year (Shores, 1970). In addition, new information on the physical yields of natural stands of loblolly pine and loblolly pine plantations in Virginia has recently become available (Burkhart, et al., 1972a; Burkhart, et al., 1972b).
Growth and Yield of Appalachian Mixed Hardwoods After Thinning
Harrison, Wade C.; Burkhart, Harold E.; Burk, Thomas E.; Beck, Donald E. (Virginia Tech. Division of Forestry and Wildlife Resources, 1986)
G-HAT (Growth of Hardwoods After Thinning) is a system of computer programs used to predict growth and yield of Appalachian mixed hardwoods after thinning. Given a tree list or stand table, along with inputs of stand age, site index, and stand basal area before thinning, G-HAT software uses species-specific individual tree equations to predict tree basal area increment and total height for the residual stand. Cubic foot volumes, based on desired merchantability standards, may be obtained for thinned trees, the residual stand, and the projected stand. G-HAT is available as a self-contained, interactive program (BASIC G-HAT) or as a library of FORTRAN subroutines (FORTRAN G-HAT). BASIC G-HAT, for personal computers, is designed for interactive, user-friendly sessions with keyboard input and screen output. Its use requires no programming ability. FORTRAN G-HAT is compatible with mainframe computers, minicomputers, and personal computers. It consists of modular subroutines which allow considerable flexibility in application, such as interface with computerized timber inventory systems and stand simulators.
Simulation of Individual Tree Growth and Stand Development in Loblolly Pine Plantations on Cutover, Site-Prepared Areas
Burkhart, Harold E.; Farrar, Kenneth D.; Amateis, Ralph L.; Daniels, Richard F. (Virginia Tech. Division of Forestry and Wildlife Resources, 1987)
A forest stand simulator, PTAEDA2, was developed to model growth in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations on cutover, site-prepared areas. Individual trees were used as the basic growth units. In PTAEDA2, trees are assigned coordinate locations in a stand and 'grown' annually as a function of their size, the site quality, and the competition from neighbors. Growth increments are adjusted by stochastic elements representing genetic and microsite variability. Mortality is generated stochastically through Bernouli trials, Subroutines were developed to simulate the effects of hardwood competition, thinning, and fertilization on tree and stand development. Options for varying the spatial location of trees to mimic randomness in machine and hand planting operations are also included.
A Model for Assessing Hardwood Competition Effects on Yields of Loblolly Pine Plantations
Burkhart, Harold E.; Sprinz, Peter T. (Virginia Tech. Division of Forestry and Wildlife Resources, 1984)
A model was developed to predict pine survival, growth and yield for unthinned loblolly pine plantations with varying levels of hardwood competition in the main canopy. Inputs for the model are number of loblolly pine trees per acre planted, site index for loblolly pine, percent of hardwood basal area in the main canopy of the stand, and age(s) at which output is desired. From these inputs the model computes, by 1-inch dbh classes, the number of trees surviving, basal area, and volumes per acre. The model, which was constructed using sample plot data from old-field and cutover-site plantations, was validated with independent data from a hardwood conversion/site preparation study. Overall, there was close agreement between the observed values and the model predictions.

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